The cannister filter thread

[brewmaster15]

I have a couple of tanks that are not in ideal locations for HOB aquaclears. Tanks are 75g, 125; and 180 gal. I want to add cannisters. I have not run cannisters in years.. used to use a bunch of green eheims I bought from a guy getting out of the hobby.

Thought I would start a thread to talk cannisters. What do you use? What filters on what size tanks? What brands do you swear by and what brands do you swear at?

Thanks,
Al

[Charlyc11]

Al
I have 2 FX4's one for each 75G tank and they seem to work fine. I added a spray bar to them and they been running for a couple of years now. I clean them every couple of months since the both have prefilter instead of the factory intake. I mostly have sponge filtration no polishing or carbon since I have well water the carbon is useless. I do have some Seachem matrix in one tray but that's soon to be gone the matrix eventually clogs up. They are easy to clean, I have them on rolling small tables so I just roll to the sink to clean. I used to have them connected to the drain ( see pic) so I can empty for water changes but it drained slow so I opted to use a pump now. I will be using for 90G tank at least in the beginning until I decide if I want to go with wet/dry or stick with the canister.

20221208_164847.jpg

[brewmaster15]

Good info.. thanks Chuck. I like the extra setup with the cart for rolling to the sink. Nice idea there.

[fljones3]

I can second the fx series. I used fx4 for years in my 75g.
Probably can find a good buy now.

[Iminit]

Yes deals on Black Friday. I just didn’t care for the fx6 I had. It’s rated gph for empty. Comes with some huge sponges. But these sponges reduce flow. Also has plenty of area to add all your favorite media. This also greatly reduced flow. For me I ended up removing most of this media. On a 125. Next I added a tidal 110 and a eshopps 125 wet/dry. Got rid of fx6. Much better now! I will suggest looking on marketplace or other sale places for a used wet/dry. They can be bought cheap. Some even with the pump. But I suggest upgrading the pump. I find these a more efficient filtration. I’m now running 3. None of the nitrate problems that were suggested. The unit I have on my 180 moves over 1000gph and cost around $250. Pump and replacement overflow were the main money spent. Unit came with an overflow but it’s for a 400g tank. Just too big!!

[Discus Fever]

Fluval FX series filters for me too

[brewmaster15]

Thanks Guys, Keep it coming.

al

[ravvlet]

Not a large tank, but I run a Fluval 207 on our goldfish tank (a 20g L that’s going to magically transform into a 29g with a lot of cussing and what not this week). Goldfish are nasty and we feed ours 3x a day and it’s kept up just fine. Additionally the features like the aquastop valve makes popping it out and cleaning it a cinch, and the flow rate bar have been really great for not accidentally blasting our shrimp around the tank.

The FX series also has a flow rate bar (manufacturer recommends never going below 50% output however); I think the main difference between the 200 series and the FX series is that the FX series is designed for larger tanks, as it has a much higher max GPH.

[bluelagoon]

I used a FX6 on a 6 foot 110 gal. and it worked great. At first I also used an API Filstar XP XL rated for a tank up to 265 gal. It didn't filter the tank well at all; I would have needed two of these to filter a 110 gal. I find with time some of the plastic on canister filters crack or rot in a few years and break easily. Had no trouble with the FX6.

[Charlyc11]

They came out also with the Fluval FX2. I guess the ratings are of either new set up filter per their recommendations with the media that comes with or and empty filter. They are still well built very solid and do a good job.

FX2 that is rated at 475 gallons per hr.
FX4 that is rated at 700 gallons per hr.
FX6 that is rated at 925 gallons per hr.

[HAYABUSA68]

J'utilise 2 EHEIM 2260 dans mon 750L, nettoyage tous les mois à 15 jours d'écart.

[brewmaster15]

J'utilise 2 EHEIM 2260 dans mon 750L, nettoyage tous les mois à 15 jours d'écart.

"I use 2 EHEIM 2260 in my 750L, cleaning every month 15 days apart"

Thank you!

[brewmaster15]

They came out also with the Fluval FX2. I guess the ratings are of either new set up filter per their recommendations with the media that comes with or and empty filter. They are still well built very solid and do a good job.

FX2 that is rated at 475 gallons per hr.
FX4 that is rated at 700 gallons per hr.
FX6 that is rated at 925 gallons per hr.

Generally my 125s run with 3 aquaclear 110s..

500 Gal/h (1890 L/h) each x 3 .. 1500 gal/hour plus 4 hydro 5 sponges.

I tend to take gph ratings with a grain of salt but I guess I should be looking at 2 Each FX 4 or a fx 4 and fx6. Ouch!!!

[Charlyc11]

The Fx6 per their website it's rated up to 400 gallons but I think it's ideal for a 125 by itself with some hydros. I am going to run my FX4 on the 90 and I think it's up to the task.